CHAPTER 342: CHAPTER 169: IGNORANT PARENTS (SUBSCRIPTION AND MONTHLY TICKET REQUESTED)_2

"It really seems like it..."

"Leader Luo, do you have some secret to staying youthful? Share it with us."

Seeing the topic return to himself, Luo Fei helplessly put down his book and met the bright eyes of the group.

"There’s no secret, just early to bed, early to rise, and regular exercise."

"That’s it?"

"That’s it."

"...Alright."

Seeing he wasn’t joking, everyone could only attribute it to his health condition.

At eight o’clock on the dot, Zhao Donglai walked into the police station right on time.

Last night, when Luo Fei and his team came back, they had already called to report to him.

So when he saw everyone gathered in Group One’s office, he wasn’t surprised.

"Don’t just stand around here, go inform everyone to meet in the conference room in five minutes."

...

Conference room.

Zhao Donglai looked around and found everyone was present.

"Alright, let’s get to the point. Luo Fei, Liao Xingyu, let’s hear about your discoveries this time."

"Captain Zhao, initially we speculated that the murder motive was superstitious, but after our inquiry, this suspicion was ruled out. Subsequently..."

"I got inspiration from Zhang Wei’s words... Based on this hypothesis, we indeed found a suspicious family..."

Luo Fei quickly recapped their findings from last night.

After listening, Zhao Donglai appeared thoughtful.

At this point, Liao Xingyu spoke up, "Captain Zhao, from the current situation, Zhou Guohua and his son indeed have a strong suspicion of committing the crime."

"Firstly, from the fact that they repeatedly refused the surgery for the child, it shows that this family is very stubborn and ignorant. Such people often fall prey to unscientific treatment methods."

"Moreover, according to the head nurse, the last time the child was seriously ill, Zhou Dahua disappeared for an afternoon and only returned to the hospital late at night."

"Although we haven’t obtained the child’s medical records yet, based on what we’ve learned from Zhou Guo’an, it’s almost certain that the day he disappeared was the same day Zhou Kaieri went missing."

"And after the incident with Zhou Kaieri, even as a close brother and having had good relations between the families, Zhou Guohua hasn’t seen Zhou Guo’an since, which is intriguing in itself."

Li Jun chimed in, "I agree with Old Liao’s view."

"I also agree. Moreover, when the nurse checked the room in the morning, she found a thermos on the bed. They admitted to giving something for the child to eat. I suspect that what was inside was probably Zhou Kaieri’s missing heart."

"The train of thought of Leader Zhou aligns with mine. According to the timeline, I speculate that at that time, Zhou Guohua likely returned to the village first, then took Zhou Kaieri away while Zhou Guo’an’s wife was cooking inside."

"Afterward, Zhou Dahua returned home, and the father and son killed to take the heart, with Zhou Dahua taking it to the hospital for Zhou Yucheng, while Zhou Guohua stayed at home to deal with Zhou Kaieri’s body."

"This might also explain why, despite the child’s mother having agreed to the surgery, she suddenly changed her mind—likely because they firmly believed that by consuming the human heart, Zhou Yucheng’s illness would improve, thus making surgery unnecessary."

"Listening to your analysis, Leader Luo, it indeed seems plausible."

"If this turns out to be true, the Zhou family father and son are truly vicious."

"Regardless of the relationship between the two families, their own family has children too. How could they do such a terrible thing to another child..."

Though this hypothesis was explosive and grotesque, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

After all, for the sake of their children, many parents are capable of performing inconceivable acts.

For a time, the group was abuzz with heated discussion.

Zhao Donglai, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke, "Everyone quiet down for a moment. Luo Fei, your hypothesis certainly has merit, but our investigations rely on evidence."

"But based on the evidence you currently possess, we can’t even summon Zhou Guohua and his son, so what’s your next step?"

"I plan to visit the city hospital again later, obtain Zhou Yucheng’s medical records, and confirm the exact time of Zhou Dahua’s disappearance that day. Then we’ll intensify the investigation in Baimao Village."

Luo Fei explained, "According to the investigation at the time, Zhou Kaieri didn’t leave the village, and the Zhou family father and son don’t have a house in the city or the county."

"So I suspect they must have killed the child somewhere in the village. With the trips back and forth, it’s unlikely Zhou Dahua left no trace whatsoever."

"So, as long as we find evidence showing he was in the village that day, his suspicion can’t be cleared."

"Also, Captain Zhao, before consuming a heart, it surely needs cooking, so I suspect strongly that their home is the initial crime scene, hence why I want to take a look at their house in the village."

Though three years had passed and traces of the crime were long gone, Luo Fei still wanted to take a look.

What if there was something to discover?

Hearing this, Zhao Donglai frowned, "This may be difficult..."

Police officers aren’t thugs; everything we do is subject to regulation and restriction.

Without sufficient reason, they have no authority to search a citizen’s house.

Especially when the home owner isn’t present, doing so would be illegal.

If evidence is found, that’d be fine; if not, there’ll be consequences.

He thought it over. "In that case, follow the initial plan first. If during the investigation it appears this family is problematic, I’ll apply for a search warrant."

"Alright, but Captain Zhao, this investigation might be quite challenging, so you’ll need to assign more personnel."

"Okay then, Groups One, Two, Three, Four, and the K9 unit will go together, while the technical team and I will remain here."

After the meeting, everyone sprang into action.

After sending the others ahead, Luo Fei took Zhang Wei and others to the city hospital once more.

He Xin and Lin Jie went to the finance department to pull records, while Luo Fei and Zhang Wei talked to the cardiac surgery medical staff again.

Among them was Director Wang Honggang, who they hadn’t met yesterday.

Due to advocating for better prenatal care in recent years, pregnant women now regularly undergo check-ups, so the chances of newborns needing heart transplants have greatly reduced.

Most patients in the cardiac surgery department are still primarily elderly.

So for younger patients, the medical staff would have a more profound memory, and coupled with the strange actions of Zhou Dahua and his wife, they were particularly memorable even after three years.

Many people still remembered the incident.

They confirmed the accounts from Wang Yan and others, and Wang Honggang also mentioned that due to an argument between Zhou Dahua and Liu Fang, not only did Liu Fang write a self-reflection letter.

As the department head, he also wrote a detailed report for the hospital explaining the incident.

Although this didn’t directly assist in solving the case, it was an important piece of evidence proving Zhou Dahua had left the hospital and his whereabouts were unknown.

Luo Fei immediately called He Xin and the others, asking them to retrieve Liu Fang’s self-reflection letter and this report.

After completing these tasks, the group hurried to Qingshan Town.

On the way, Luo Fei made another call to Zhao Donglai.

"Captain Zhao, based on information from the hospital, it’s fully confirmed that the day Zhou Dahua left the hospital was indeed the same day Zhou Kaieri went missing."

"I request to monitor the movements of Zhou Dahua’s family to prevent them from catching wind and fleeing."

Zhou Dahua’s wife, Meng Lan, is also from Baimao Village. With such a large-scale investigation involving their family, it can’t be guaranteed that Meng Lan’s family won’t alert them.

Zhao Donglai had already anticipated this, "Don’t worry, I’ve contacted the local police there. They can apprehend them immediately should they leave the city."

"Then I’m relieved."

Ending the call, Luo Fei also made separate calls to Liao Xingyu and the others.

In the conversations, they planned the areas each would cover in their investigation.

...

The tense day passed quickly.

As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Previously, Luo Fei’s two groups took several days to visit half the villagers.

But today, with five groups, they managed to complete visits to the entire village in just one day.

However, everyone was utterly exhausted and collapsed onto their beds as soon as they returned to the hotel that evening.

The group leaders, including Luo Fei, couldn’t rest just yet. The four of them gathered to discuss the findings of the day.